Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Parashi / Chapels - Split (House of Alchemy 062)

menacing mind trips by some of New York's finest. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

After a prolific year replete with quality releases, House of Alchemy commences 2013 in similar fashion. The most recent batch contains some stellar material, especially the Transplant Mountains split with Chapels. However, the Parashi/Chapels split blew the crystals off of my dome. This split release is a beautiful nug with many faces: minimalist, multi-layered, menacing, removed, foreboding, disintegrating, pernicious. Essentially, it is a fine exhibition of drone and various soundscapes. Parashi and Chapels are making music for another dimension on this split. That's the type of preternatural vibe transmitted by the ritualistic 'Low High' from Parashi and the languid minimalism that exists in 'It's All Going'' from Chapels. These artists create vivid and lucid soundscapes, yet each arrives to the destination via a different conduit.

If one is really being an active listener, then they will appreciate and celebrate the depth of ideas and sound that Parashi promulgates. The textures of sound appear infinite in the world of Parashi. 'Blemmyae' lurks with malign intent. The minimalist beginning, which consists of rumbling currents, whirling metallic tones and stray transmissions sets the listener on edge. The mood moves in the same direction as blasts of thick, disintegrating noise and squeals manifest - viscerally potent. Soon the track begins to churn. Astral transmissions are beamed from many directions - existing in fields of differing energy. Ghostly, morbid tones coalesce with random, undulating waves in 'They Undulate When Struck By Light'. After the initial part, a luminous drone cuts through the disembodied tones. Quickly, strident noise envelops everything. For me, I cannot get enough of the final track on side A, 'Low High'. It commences with an unpredictable drone comprised of burnt, buzzing tones - total immersion in this track. The tones span the spectrum, buzzing from interval to interval. The meditative, ritualistic vibe is omnipotent. Meanwhile, Chapels sets the controls for a climate similar to the one explored by Parashi, yet proceeds to the destination from a different set of roads and paths. These sounds - the beginning of the first track, 'Blood Cure' - seem removed, existing in a cloak. When one lift's the veil, a foreboding mix of noise, loops and eerie drone expands portentously as disembodied vocals echo. The arsenal of Chapels is rich, and this first track is a fine example. The second track, 'It's All Going', is bathed in the minimalism of faint transmissions, percussive tones and soporific vibrations - eerie! As the final section approaches, Chapels adeptly juxtaposes delicate, barely audible tones to layers of noise. It's one of my favorite sections of the track. The flip ends the tape in style with 'Ritual', which is much lighter than the other two tracks. Loops of airy tones become mired in tape hiss. Heavy noise almost envelops the mix, yet a delicate loop exists tenderly among the menacing noise.

Popeye...Cataract...bring the entire jar for this trip! I highly recommend ingesting these heavy vibrations from two of New York's finest. Produced in an edition of 100, one may purchase a copy of this split directly from House of Alchemy.